Whole Tree Architecture - if you'd like a house built by pioneering architect Roald Gundersen, your first step might be to hike in your nearby woods to choose some young, wind-bent, and diseased "Charlie Brown" trees. Small diameter round trees have 150% the strength of milled lumber and twice the strength of steel in tension. Besides structural and environmental advantages, whole trees make for some beautiful and naturally sculptured environments. [more inside]
posted by madamjujujive on Nov 22, 2009 - 35 comments

With the economic downturn and a steady downward trend in family sizes, the end of the McMansion could be at hand. Some people are living in and building tiny houses (previously) to decrease their impact on the environment, while others can't afford more (or wish to own something small instead of paying off something big). Sergio Santos saw his small budget and limited space as a challenge (gallery), maximizing his 77 square foot space as a bedroom, office, and mini-kitchen. Claire Wolf lists the four pieces of living small: building, gadgeting, decorating, and coping. If these spaces are too small for you, Dan Maginn suggest 900 square feet for a 2 bed, 2 bath house, and outlines how to design your own small home (his tips: think "events" more than "rooms," and don't forget the cupboards and water heater closet).
posted by filthy light thief on Sep 1, 2009 - 95 comments

Urban exploration has been featured here once or twice before, but Jim Griffioen's site photo-documenting his discoveries in and around Detroit deserves a look. Griffioen was recently interviewed [direct mp3 link] on the American Public Media radio program The Story. [more inside]
posted by Item on Jul 25, 2009 - 14 comments

100 Abandoned Houses. A photo essay from Detroit-based photographer Kevin Bauman.
posted by dersins on Apr 3, 2009 - 71 comments

"The brief was simple: to build a house to retire to in order to grow food, entertain and enjoy the East Anglia landscape. The outcome was as unconventional as they come. A structure that has the ability to vary or connect the overall building's composition and character according to season, weather or simply a desire to delight. Wallpaper* took a trip to the site to capture the physical phenomenon in the only medium that serves it justice - film." via
posted by Knappster on Mar 2, 2009 - 15 comments

Some cool houses. There are also some cool photos and such, but it's the houses that caught my eye. [more inside]
posted by cjorgensen on Dec 30, 2008 - 4 comments

What was the mysterious green backdrop behind John McCain last night? Was it an attempt to restart the Colbert/McCain Green Screen Challenge? The lawn of one of his houses? Or possibly just a screw-up?
posted by Artw on Sep 5, 2008 - 137 comments

Tiny Houses - Design Boom compiles a nice list of tiny residences around the world.
posted by dobbs on Aug 31, 2008 - 25 comments

Photo gallery of houses in some pretty spectacular places. Some of these might be photoshopped (or not-- who knows...) but they're still pretty amazing to look at. [more inside]
posted by dersins on Nov 1, 2007 - 45 comments

The Solar Decathlon is a just-completed competition in which 20 teams of college and university students competed to design, build, and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered house. View a photo gallery or take video tours of the homes. Inhabitat has been blogging the event - here's their view of Germany's winning entry. [more inside]
posted by madamjujujive on Oct 21, 2007 - 16 comments

Unusual Life Dot Com: Unusual Homes. Amazing Architecture. Strange Places. Fascinating People.
posted by dersins on Oct 9, 2007 - 13 comments

"Future House Now is dedicated to exploring ideas about better living in family homes that are affordable, modern, efficient, healthy, environmentally responsible and available today."
posted by dobbs on Jun 4, 2007 - 8 comments

Architecture and the Velvet Fist of Happiness - click 'view the book" in the top left. {Flash, slight sound, NSFW}
posted by dobbs on Dec 11, 2006 - 9 comments

Looking for a spacious home in a unique, quiet and safe location? It may be a fixer-upper, but buy now before the value skyrockets.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Nov 30, 2006 - 21 comments

The Katrina Cottage is economical, rather charming, and can serve as a "grow" house. At $35,000 for 308 sq ft, it compares favorably to the $75k FEMA trailer. Not a totally new idea - some of the 1906 earthquake refuge shacks are still in existence in San Francisco. Might tiny houses be the future for disaster relief? (via The Blues and Then Some)
posted by madamjujujive on May 2, 2006 - 39 comments

HouseBlinger collects photos of Christmas-decorated homes all over England.
posted by XQUZYPHYR on Nov 22, 2005 - 13 comments

The Evolution of the American Front Porch.
posted by plep on May 29, 2005 - 27 comments

The most modern home built in the world. "From the outside it looks like a spaceship you cannot enter. But if you go inside, it feels very cozy… very Zen and calming. Maybe because you are floating above the city, in the sky". John Lautner's Chemosphere residence is the product of a fortuitous union of architect, client, time and place. Leonard Malin was a young aerospace engineer in late-1950s L.A. whose father-in-law had just given him a plot north of Mulholland Drive, near Laurel Canyon. The only catch: at roughly 45 degrees, the slope was all but unbuildable. Lautner sketched a bold vertical line, a cross, and a curve above it. "Draw it up," he told his assistant. Now publisher Benedikt Taschen owns Chemosphere (NSFW), and after 20 years of neglect the house has been beautifully restored (.pdf) by Frank Escher.
posted by matteo on Apr 7, 2005 - 24 comments

How small could you go? Tumbleweed houses, the m-house, the wee house, the mobile hermitage and other varieties of tiny houses serve as charming abodes, offices, or retreats. Some are evocative of the gypsy vardo or the caravan. Many aficionados are attracted by the whimsy while others see small space homes as a vital cornerstone for sustainable living.
posted by madamjujujive on Feb 13, 2005 - 33 comments

Houses of the Future - houses made of cardboard, steel and clay.
posted by cmonkey on Nov 23, 2004 - 26 comments

Straw House Blog. Coolhouse. Colorado house. When summer comes, I invariably start dreaming of places to live that are utterly unlike the standard Korean Concrete Beehive Box.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken on Jul 22, 2004 - 11 comments

The Great American 'Garage Mahal' - cars, houses and garages of the American super-sized new affluent class grow ever larger : "three separate two-car garages attached to his $750,000 brick abode: one for his son Brandon, one for his wife, Janice, and one for him. His garages' many amenities include carpeting, cable TV, speakers wired to the home stereo system and a bathroom. "I've always liked garages and I don't think you can have enough of them," " Mr. Bernard said."
posted by troutfishing on Jul 21, 2004 - 25 comments

Could this revolutionize architecture? A robot that can "print" a 2,000 sq-ft house in one day without the use of a single human hand. What sort of effects will this have on the future of houses?
posted by christian on Jun 7, 2004 - 37 comments

John Coltrane composed many of his later works, including A Love Supreme in this house. Now local preservationists are battling to save the home from demolition. If you want to see this home preserved just send them an email to show your support.
posted by lilboo on Mar 9, 2004 - 17 comments

The Futuro House - designed in 1968 by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen, this funky place is an example of space age utopian architecture. Made largely of plastic, the oil crisis nipped the design in the bud. Should you decide to build along these lines, here's some ideas for '70s decor.
posted by madamjujujive on Dec 22, 2003 - 16 comments

Craig and Yvonne are in the process of renovating their 1891 Victorian House. Progress can be followed on their site. Be sure to check out the before and after pics, which are pretty impressive.
posted by Ufez Jones on Oct 23, 2003 - 34 comments

A pole in the ground + an old Plane on top of it = home sweet home. A company in Tennesee is selling old airplanes as homes on ebay. I wonder if the new homeowners ever get tired of eating those little packets of peanuts every night.
posted by mathowie on Jul 19, 2003 - 14 comments

Stone inhabitants and extraordinary houses of Prague. More at the Praha experience.
If you like this, you might also like fifty doors of Paris and San Francisco.
posted by plep on Jul 18, 2003 - 6 comments

I So Want This House It Hurts. Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House is up for sale. If price was no object and location wasn't a problem, where would you choose to really live? What architect, living or dead; what building, available or not, would you choose? [NYT reg. required for main link..]
posted by MiguelCardoso on May 31, 2003 - 44 comments

Where will you be living in the future? Las Vegas' metro area is the fastest growing community in the nation, but we still build houses the old fashion way. MIT looks at what the homes of the future will provide and also gives an interesting review of what the homes of the future were like in the past, including my favorite future house of the past. What do you want in your next home?
posted by IndigoSkye on Dec 3, 2002 - 12 comments

Small house, big ambitions. I've always lived in small houses and flats so this would be the perfect little place for me. As people are progressively continuing to stay single for longer into their lives, are homes like these what they'd be looking for to settle into?
posted by feelinglistless on Sep 28, 2002 - 23 comments

Trash homes a.k.a. earthships sound like the way to go. Now if they would start building them here in Seattle...
posted by folktrash on Aug 12, 2002 - 15 comments

Rich Man's Castle - A Guardian piece which suggests the introduction of land-zoning to ensure that all the prime pieces of land aren't snapped up for luxury, new build homes and are instead designated for affordable housing. With UK house prices on an ever-upward trajectory, it's unlikely that developers would embrace such a move. At least, not when there are masterpieces to construct.
posted by jonathanbell on May 9, 2002 - 5 comments

Coca-Cola on tap at home? New recipies that include "2 cups of Coca-Cola"? Taking this a step further makes it interesting, with all manner of juices being available on-call.
posted by pnevares on Mar 19, 2001 - 36 comments

This house which I heard about from captain cursor looks normal on the outside, but make sure you check out the basement! It made me think of the barn house that I once visited while growing up in Indiana. Though very different, they both are products of magnficent obscessions--as is the famous Winchester Mystery House. It seems many people like to build and live in strange homes. Of course, there are people who are obscessed with other things.
posted by grumblebee on May 16, 2000 - 2 comments